São Paulo president: 'The Argentines ran away'

By Christopher Atkins 2012-12-13 10:47:19 20121213

São Paulo club president Juvenal Juvencio has accused Argentine side Tigre of "running away" after the sides' Copa Sudamericana final was ended at half-time in the second-leg with the visitors refusing to take the field.

It is alleged that Tigre were the victims of violence from São Paulo security officials at half-time, with players and coaches suggesting that they were beaten with sticks and threatened with guns in the changing rooms.

Following the match, though, São Paulo players and officials were reluctant to accept that there had been any foul-play and instead many chose to accuse the visitors of cowardice in the face of defeat.

"They were going to lose by a big score," Juvencio told the club's website. "Our biggest victory is the fact that the Argentines ran away."

Club captain Rogerio Ceni was also inclined to blame the visitors for the trouble that broke out: "They came here to fight, not to play. We are not worried. I don't know what happened inside the dressing room."